FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Stems spongy below water; bark of stems above water sloughs off in long cinnamon-colored strips.
Description: Shrubby perennial with long arching leafy stems, some rooting at tips. Can also be considered herbaceous.
Leaves: Opposite or whorled, lance-shaped, large, to 20 cm long and 5 cm wide, with a prominent white or pink midvein. Leaves smooth above, pubescent with short hairs below.
Flowers/Fruit: Purple flowers about 3 cm wide, in clusters at leaf bases, with long, extending stamens. Blooms and fruits July to September.
Habit and Range: Shallow water around lakes and ponds, in marshes, swamps, and wet shrubby thickets in the Coastal Plain.
Taxonomic Note: This species is also called water-willow, but is more closely related to loosestrifes than willows.
